Why do we crave that which is killing us? Addiction is the perpetual epidemic, where swarms of human moths flutter to the flames of hell. Because that warm blanket of a heroin high, that joyful intoxication of a pint of vodka, that electric energy from a line of cocaine, over time leaves you with a cold loneliness and a bitter heart. Relationships destroyed, bodies deteriorate, loved ones lost, yet the craving continues for that which is killing us—living, as the title suggests, like an Orphan of Bliss. Welcome to the third and final fix of addiction horror and the follow up to the Shirley Jackson Award Finalist, Lullabies For Suffering. A diverse table of contents has been brought together for an explosive grand finale–an unflinching look at the insidious nature of addiction, told with searing honesty but compassion for those who suffer. The table of contents includes:
KEALAN PATRICK BURKE—You Wait For It, Like It Waits For You
Bram Stoker Award winning author of Turtle Boy, Kin, and Sour Candy. Kealan's work is the lead story in all three anthologies, each existing within the same universe. He's done nothing less than create an addiction-fueled, fever dream mythos.
SA COSBY—One Last Blast
The New York Times best-selling author of Razorblade Tears and Blacktop Wasteland. His unmistakable, powerful voice, tells a story of a powerful new blend of meth that overruns a rural town.
CASSANDRA KHAW—What We Name Our Dead
USA Today Best-Selling writer of Nothing But Blackened Teeth. Khaw's amazing prose is on full display in her story about an adult child haunted by the ghost of her substance abusing father.
JOHN FD TAFF—Huddled Masses, Yearning to Breathe free
Two-time Bram Stoker Award finalist, Taff has been the backbone for the addiction horror series. In Huddled Masses, a heroin addict puts down the needles but his character defects pile high in his cellar. You've never seen a hoarder's episode like this.
CHRISTA CARMEN—Through the Looking Glass and Straight Into Hell
Carmen's debut story collection won the Indie Horror Book Award for Best Debut Collection. Readers are in for a shock when they follow an addict down the rabbit hole in a treatment center. One of the best stories of the series.
GABINO IGLESIAS—Holding On
Author of Coyote Songs and nominated for a Bram Stoker award for his work in Lullabies for Suffering. This time, he's created a dystopian world where a drug called Gravedust impacts the most disenfranchised. A super-charged story that only Gabino could write.
SAMANTHA KOLESNIK—Buyer's Remorse
Splatterpunk Award-winning author of the novel True Crime which took readers by storm. Her tale is about a character who constantly craving a new identity with perpetual consumption to fill her empty spaces.
JOSH MALERMAN—A Solid Black Lighthouse on a Pier in the Cryptic
New York Times Best Selling writer of Bird Box. His story is a King Midas type tale for those who can never seem to drink enough.
KATHE KOJA—Singularity
Author of the legendary novel, The Cipher. Koja's short, mystical, piece captures the obsessive nature of addiction in her trademark shocking, speculative style
MARK MATTHEWS—My Soul's Bliss
The editor of all three anthologies, his story is the funeral of sorts to this addiction horror theme—but then again, in horror, nothing stays dead forever.
